Take a Look, It's in a Book...

My kids are going to ask, "What are those?"

Like most writers, I’m a huge reader. I look forward to afternoons where I can lose myself in a book for hours, while lounging outside in the sun. I was such a bookworm as a child that I often got in trouble for reading under my desk when I was supposed to be learning other subjects like math and science (boo!).


Recently, I’ve been satiating my book craving, saving money (and space in my house) by going to the library. I hadn’t owned a library card in years and I suddenly had the urge to take advantage of my tax dollars again. The library has been forcing me to quickly get through books before their due dates, so I’ve been quite the reading machine. I wanted to share my favorites so far this year and warn you of the titles to steer clear of.

Race, animals and the end of the world: These are books to stick your nose in

Little Bee: This is the only book I’ve ever read by Chris Cleave, but his writing style is just as creative as his storytelling. His pacing is excellent and his characters engrossing. I could not put this down. By far, one of the best books I’ve ever read.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks: Funny how I loved a book about cells when the last thing I wanted to do in school was learn about them. What really hooked me to this book was the story behind the science. This true story will make you angry for the Lacks family.

A Dog’s Purpose: This is such a feel-good book. Even if you’re not a dog lover, the lessons behind it are very human. A dog gets reincarnated several times as different breeds throughout his life and every time one of his lives ended I cried. But it was ultimately a happy story.

Water for Elephants: This book has been out for awhile, and I was hesitant to read it due to its circus theme (I’m not really one for carnies). But after the first chapter I was hooked. The author does a great job making you love the characters, and it certainly blows the movie out of the water.

The Help: Set in the South in the 1950s, The Help tells a story of a young, white woman who tries to make a difference in the world by writing about the experiences of the black women who clean the homes in her neighborhood. It’s a revolutionary undertaking, full of twists, turns and lots of ignorant people that will make you want to throw the book in protest. This is another page-turner!

Hunger Games series: I could not put these books down. I’m not much of a fantasy-genre reader, but I do enjoy a good dystopian novel now and again. This series is action-packed, suspenseful and the characters are awesome. I’m not sure I liked how the series ended, but I certainly enjoyed the ride. And can’t wait to see the movie they’re making!

Books that bore: You’ll be wishing you got that time back

Beatrice and Virgil: snore snore snore. I loved Life of Pi which is written by the same author, but this book left me more than disappointed. I was on the last page and still wondering what the hell happened. I kept reading it in hopes that it would get better. It didn’t. It was way too abstract and terrible for my taste.

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner: I’m a self-confessed twilight nerd but this book certainly did not deliver. In fact, even though it’s all of three pages, I didn’t even finish it. I had already learned my lesson from Beatrice and Virgil.

Freedom: Sorry Oprah, but I have no clue what you saw in this book. This story had a big climb that lead to absolutely nothing. I hated every self-absorbed character in these pages. They were all whiny adults with luxury problems. Save yourself 500+ pages of time and go watch TV.

Sticks and stones may break your bones, but my reading recommendations will blow. your. mind. :)